NINETY-FIVE PRISONERS FROM THE FRAMINGHAM INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN WERE INVOLVED IN THE STUDY - 26 WERE SELF-REPORTED HOMOSEXUALS, 42 WERE CONSIDERED HOMOSEXUALS BY PRISON STAFF, AND 27 WERE NONHOMOSEXUALS. SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, SUICIDAL ATTEMPTS, PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEMS DURING MENSTRUATION, AND A HISTORY OF VIOLENT CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS WERE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE HOMOSEXUAL GROUP, WHEREAS A HISTORY OF CRIMES AGAINST SELF AND PROPERTY, AS WELL AS HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM WERE COMMON IN THE NONHOMOSEXUAL GROUP. VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, TOGETHER WITH SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN HOMOSEXUAL FEMALE PRISONERS SUPPORT THE HYPOTHESIS THAT AGGRESSIVE IMPULSES MAY BE EXPRESSED EITHER EXTERNALLY OR TOWARD THE SELF, THE PROBLEM BEING ONE OF IMPAIRMENT IN CONTROL MECHANISMS. THE FINDINGS ALSO SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, AS SHOWN BY THIS GROUP OF INCARCERATED HOMOSEXUAL FEMALES, IS MULTIDETERMINED. THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ITS APPEARANCE AND EXPRESSION COULD INCLUDE A HISTORY OF FAMILY VIOLENCE, POOR IMPULSE CONTROL AS CHILDREN, NEUROLOGICAL ABNORMALITY, SEX ROLE IDENTIFICATION PROBLEMS, BIOCHEMICAL ABNORMALITIES (MANIFESTED AS MENSTRUAL IRREGULARITIES), AND IMPULSE CONTROL PROBLEMS AS ADULTS. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN VIOLENCE MUST BE BASED ON THE RECOGNITION OF THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL NATURE OF THE PROBLEM USING THE TOOLS AND INSIGHTS FROM MANY DISCIPLINES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--RCB)